Kostroma weather in December

In December, Kostroma sees average daytime highs of -5°C and overnight lows near -9°C, with 42 mm of precipitation across 10.4 wet days and about 6.3 hours of daylight. It is the 10th-warmest and 8th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about -3°C in the first days to -6°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 3% of the time in December, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 6 h 42 min at the start of December to 6 h 18 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Kostroma's 12th-clearest and 1st-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Kostroma's year-round climate.

Daytime high
-5°
10th warmest
Overnight low
-9°
3rd coldest
Precipitation
42 mm
10.4 wet days
Daylight
6 h 18 min
9:05 AM – 3:20 PM
Cloud cover
93%
12th clearest
Wind
15 km/h
1st windiest
Solar energy
0.26 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Kostroma is city in the center of European Russia.

Density
1,919/km²
people per km²
Founded
1152

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Temperature in December

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs ease over the month, from about -3°C in the first days to -6°C by the end.

A typical December day in Kostroma reaches about -5°C in the afternoon and slips back to -9°C overnight — a 5°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -13°C and 2°C. Set against its neighbours, December runs about 4°C cooler than November and about 2°C warmer than January.

-20°-10°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1-3-7
2-3-7
3-3-7
4-3-7
5-3-8
6-3-8
7-3-8
8-4-8
9-4-8
10-4-8
11-4-8
12-4-8
13-4-8
14-4-9
15-4-9
16-4-9
17-5-9
18-5-9
19-5-9
20-5-10
21-5-10
22-5-10
23-5-10
24-5-10
25-5-10
26-5-10
27-5-10
28-6-10
29-6-10
30-6-10
31-6-11

How December really feels in Kostroma

Once humidity and wind are folded in, December averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 31 that feel at or below 0°C — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
31
31 feel bitter (≤ -10°C)

The story in December is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Kostroma weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 10th-warmest and 8th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan-6° / -12°4111.112.570.0
Feb-5° / -11°318.6108.90.0
Mar / -7°359.28.611.40.0
Apr10° / 409.22.7142.0
May17° / 5811.10.316.35.2
Jun21° / 11°7511.8017.66.1
Jul23° / 14°7312.5017.16.4
Aug21° / 12°7012.1015.16.1
Sep15° / 6511.10.212.54.2
Oct / 6512.13.3101.0
Nov-0° / -4°5010.87.77.60.0
Dec-5° / -9°4210.411.56.30.0

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 3% of the time in December, the cloudiest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 2% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 95%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
1694
2694
3595
4595
5595
6595
7595
8694
9694
10694
11694
12595
13595
14595
15595
16595
17595
18595
19595
20595
21595
22595
23595
24595
25595
26595
27595
28595
29496
30496
31496

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitationSnow

Kostroma gets around 42 mm of rain and snow over 10.4 wet days in December. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 34% and peaks near 37% on the wettest days, and about 12 days bring snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
13331
23331
33231
43231
53231
63232
73232
83233
93233
103233
113234
123134
133235
143235
153236
163237
173237
183338
193339
203439
213440
223440
233541
243541
253642
263642
273643
283743
293743
303743
313743

Humidity in December

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of December feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

By dew point, December lands in the dry band about 100% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)
1100
2100
3100
4100
5100
6100
7100
8100
9100
10100
11100
12100
13100
14100
15100
16100
17100
18100
19100
20100
21100
22100
23100
24100
25100
26100
27100
28100
29100
30100
31100

Wind in December

Winds average 15 km/h in December, the windiest month of the year.

Across December, daily wind ranges from about 14 km/h on the calmest days to 15 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

05101520151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
114light breeze
214light breeze
314light breeze
414light breeze
514light breeze
614light breeze
714light breeze
814light breeze
914light breeze
1014light breeze
1114light breeze
1215light breeze
1315light breeze
1415light breeze
1515light breeze
1615light breeze
1715light breeze
1815light breeze
1915light breeze
2015light breeze
2115light breeze
2215light breeze
2315light breeze
2415light breeze
2515light breeze
2615light breeze
2715light breeze
2815light breeze
2915light breeze
3015light breeze
3114light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 6 h 42 min at the start of December to 6 h 18 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 24 minutes over December. Sunrise moves from 8:45 AM to 9:10 AM, and sunset from 3:27 PM to 3:29 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
16.78:453:27
26.78:463:26
36.68:483:26
46.68:503:25
56.58:513:24
66.58:533:23
76.58:543:23
86.48:563:22
96.48:573:22
106.48:583:21
116.49:003:21
126.39:013:20
136.39:023:20
146.39:033:20
156.39:043:20
166.39:053:20
176.29:063:20
186.29:073:20
196.29:073:20
206.29:083:21
216.29:093:21
226.29:093:21
236.29:093:22
246.29:103:23
256.29:103:23
266.29:103:24
276.29:103:25
286.39:113:26
296.39:113:27
306.39:103:28
316.39:103:29

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 0.26 kWh/m² — the year's lowest.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.26 kWh/m² to a high of 5.52 kWh/m² in June across the year — December's 0.26 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
10.3Dim
20.3Dim
30.3Dim
40.3Dim
50.3Dim
60.3Dim
70.3Dim
80.3Dim
90.3Dim
100.3Dim
110.3Dim
120.3Dim
130.3Dim
140.3Dim
150.3Dim
160.3Dim
170.3Dim
180.3Dim
190.3Dim
200.3Dim
210.3Dim
220.3Dim
230.3Dim
240.3Dim
250.3Dim
260.3Dim
270.3Dim
280.3Dim
290.3Dim
300.3Dim
310.3Dim
Planning a trip in December

Is December a good time to visit Kostroma?

Our two travel scores rate December for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

0.0
Sightseeing
8th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
7th-best month of the year

December is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Kostroma.

What to pack for Kostroma in December

From December's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In December, Kostroma sees daytime highs around -5°C and nights near -9°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: rain gear. About 10 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in Kostroma in December

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in December peaks around 0. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Kostroma peaks around July 13 at about 6 (high) — a little sun protection helps at midday. It bottoms out near December 19 at about 0 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 6 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowJul 13UV 6Dec 19UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan0Low
Feb1Low
Mar2Moderate
Apr3Moderate
May4Moderate
Jun5High
Jul6High
Aug4Moderate
Sep3Moderate
Oct1Low
Nov1Low
Dec0Low
Location & terrain

Where is Kostroma?

Kostroma sits at 57.8°N, 40.9°E, 109 m above sea level, in Russia. The nearest listed city is Volgorechensk, 38 km away.

Topography around Kostroma

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Kostroma.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Kostroma has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 80 m around an average of 102 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 116 m; within 80 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 167 m.

The land around Kostroma is covered by artificial surfaces (47%) and trees (31%) within 3 km, trees (41%), grassland (27%) and cropland (20%) within 16 km, and trees (66%) and grassland (21%) within 80 km.

3 km
80 m
16 km
116 m
80 km
167 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
December weather nearby: Volgorechensk 38 km · Nerekhta 40 km · Privolzhsk 48 km · Furmanov 58 km · Yaroslavl 64 km · Danilov 65 km · Kineshma 80 km · Gavrilov-Yam 82 km

Russia travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 4
Do Not Travel
Power plugs
Type C / F
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 32% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$17,547
2025
Happiness
5.8 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
76%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
6.8
per 100k, 2021
Road deaths
12
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
Moderate
EF EPI 521
Religion
other Christian 2%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Kostroma (57.7664°, 40.9283°, elevation 109 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).